TELECOMPUTING-^? - Bombjack.org

WHITHER
by: MARK BROWN
CP/M is not a language, but
an operating syste*. It
allows the Z88 CPU to take
over your Com*odore 64.
CoMMOdore took so long getting
CP/M to narket that the FTC
filed suit against CoNMOdore
for promising product it
couldn't deliver.
■
liT'S IRONIC, REALLY. ONE OF COMMODORE'S BIG SALES
PITCHES WHEN FIRST PROMOTING THE COMMODORE 64 liIAS
THAT YOU WOULD 'SOON' 8E ABLE TO ADD A CARTRIDGE
CONTAINING A Z80 CPU CHIP THAT WOULD ALLOW YOU TO RUN
CP/M SOFTWARE. THEY CLAIMED THIS WOULD GIVE YOU
ACCESS TO 'THOUSANDS OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONflL
PROGRAMS'. UNFORTUNATELY, COMMODORE TOOK FOREVER
GETTING THE PROMISED CP/M CARTRIDGE TO MARKET; SO
LONG THAT THE FTC FILED SUIT AGAINST COMMODORE FOR
PROMISING PRODUCT IT COULDN'T DELIVER. BUT IN THE
MEANTIME, COMMODORE DID START SHIPPING CP/M. THE
SUIT ENDED RECENTLY, WITH COMMODORE ADMONISHED NEVER
TO PROMOTE 'AIRWARE1 (I.E. NON-EXISTANT PRODUCT)
AGAIN. ON THE HEELS OF THIS DECISION (THOUGH
APPARENTLY NOT BECAUSE OF IT), COMMODORE QUIETLY QUIT
DISTRIBUTING ITS CP/M CARTRIDGE. (SPECULATION IS
THAT THE NEW 12BK, 40/BO COLUMN, CB4/CP/M COMPATIBLE
COMMODORE COMPUTER DUE OUT IN THE SPRING WILL BE
COMMODORE'S ONLY ENTRANT IN THE CP/M MARKET.) DATA
20, A THIRD-PARTY COMPANY, QUIT MAKING IT'S 80-COLUMN
CP/M CARTRIDGE FDR THE COMMODORE 64 AT ABOUT THE SAME
TIME. AND IT'S TOO BAD.
THERE HAVE BEEN THREE ARGUMENTS AGAINST CP/M ON THE
COMMODORE 64 FROM THE START. THE FIRST WAS THAT CP/M
SOFTWARE IS GENERALLY AVAILABLE ONLY ON IBM FORMATTED
8" DISKS. THIS MEANT THAT THE EXTENSIVE CP/M LIBRARY
UOULD HAVE TO BE TRANSFERRED SOMEHOW TO 1541 DISK
FORMAT TO BE AVAILABLE FOR USE. NOT REALLY MUCH OF
AN OBJECTION, THOUGH MUCH WAS MADE OF IT EARLY ON.
THE SAME COULD BE SAID FOR APPLE CP/M AND OTHER MICRO
VERSIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR COLECO ADAM CP/M, WHICH USES
TAPE INSTEAD OF DISKETTES! THE SECOND OBJECTION WAS
THE C64'S 40-COLUMN SCREEN WIDTH. MOST CP/M SOFTWARE
WAS WRITTEN TO RUN ON 80-COLUMN BUSINESS MACHINES,
AND WOULD HAVE TO BE REWORKED TO FIT ONTO 40 COLUMNS.
AGAIN, THE SAME IS TRUE DF APPLE CP/M AND THE REST.
THE THIRD AND ONLY REAL OBJECTION TO C64 CP/M WAS ITS
SLOW DISK DRIVE ACCESS TIMES. CP/M IS VERY DISK
INTENSIVE, AND C64 CP/M DOES SUFFER FROM THE DISK
WAITS. BUT IT'S NOT FATAL, ONLY A NUISANCE. WITH
ALL THIS CRITICISM LEVELLED AT IT FROM THE START, AND
THE LONG LAG TIME BETWEEN ITS ANNOUNCEMENT AND
DELIVERY, IT IS REALLY NO WONDER THAT C64 CP/M NEVER
REALLY CAUGHT ON. I WAS APPREHENSIVE MYSELF, BUT I
WAS WRONG.
MY CP/M CARTRIDGE COST ME ABOUT $70 AT THE LOCAL
K-MART. APPLE CP/M COSTS ABOUT $250. BOTH HAVE THE
SAME CAPABILITIES, SO ONCE AGAIN THE COMMODORE 64
PROVES THAT APPLES {AND IBMS, AND OTHERS) ARE NO
BARGAIN. THE CARTRIDGE IS STURDY AND OVERSIZED, AND
THE CP/M OPERATING SYSTEM DISK IS IMMENENTLY
COPYABLE. THE MANUAL IS WELL-DONE AND CLEAR, THOUGH
IF YOU'RE A CP/M NOVICE YOU'LL NEED A GOOD TUTORIAL
BOOK TO HELP YOU GET STARTED.
A WORD NEEDS TO BE SAID HERE ABOUT WHAT CP/Pl REALLY
IS: IT'S NOT A LANGUAGE, BUT AN OPERATING SYSTEM.
THAT IS TO SAY, IT ALLOWS THE ZBD CPU IN THE ADD-ON
CARTRIDGE TO TAKE OVER YOUR COMMODORE 64. ANY
PROGRAMS YOU WANT TO RUN AFTER THAT HAVE TO BE
WRITTEN IN Z80 MACHINE CODE, OR RUN IN A HIGH-LEVEL
LANGUAGE LOADED INTO MEMORY THAT WAS ITSELF WRITTEN
IN Z80 MACHINE CODE. ALL CP/M PROVIDES IS AN
ENVIRONMENT THAT SUPPORTS BASIC INPUT AND OUTPUT
(BIOS) AND A BASIC DISK OPERATING SYSTEM (BDOS). THE
ZBO MACHINE CODE LINKS INTO THESE STANDARD SUPPORT
SYSTEMS, AND THIS IS WHY CP/M PROGRAMS ARE SO
TRANSPORTABLE FROM SYSTEM TO SYSTEM.